iver trips through Grand Canyon have been our specialty for years. Folks love our 8-day motor trip--we cut no corners; we want it to be done right. For several years now, we've been offering a rowing trip for those who want a longer, more in-depth and up-close experience. That's what this story is about.

Grand Canyon is a single great majestic statement, 277 miles long. It's something that should be kept intact, and experienced as a whole. And since most folks float Grand Canyon only once, they might as well take the time to do it right--time to drift, to wander, to ponder.

So, when we decided to offer rowing trips, we wanted to do it right. The leisurely paced trip through the canyon--that went without saying. But what sort of boat?

Back in 1869, when Major John Wesley Powell led the first expedition through Grand Canyon, he used wooden boats. Although they weren't the best design, they worked, and for seventy years, those who followed Powell's route tinkered with designs and techniques, refining to a science the art of rowing wooden boats in whitewater.

But the World War II era brought an unforeseen change to whitewater rowing--the inflatable raft. They were inexpensive, tough, forgiving, and easy to patch and transport. By the end of the '60s, no one was using the old wood boats. Well, almost no one.

n the 1960's, conservationist, writer, and boatman, Martin Litton, did a couple of pretty remarkable things. One was, along with David Brower and the Sierra Club, spearheading a fight against two giant dams in Grand Canyon. They won.

The other was introducing the dory to Grand Canyon. He'd first rowed similar boats on the Mackenzie River in Oregon, and he thought they'd be perfect in Grand Canyon. They were.

And they are. They keep the grace and heritage of the old wood boat, and give the exhilarating, responsive ride that only a rigid boat can give. Yes, they demand full respect for the river, its currents, and obstacles, but in turn, you feel each nuance of the riffles, and get rocketed off the top of some of the greatest waves in the Canyon.

Our choice of boat was obvious. The dory.

It turns out these dory trips are incredible. From the moment we board the boats at Lees Ferry, we feel each boil and eccentricity of the current. We hear, too, the river's voice, the spiraling call of the Canyon Wren, the growing roar of the next rapid; and time is on our side--lots of it. Time to visit many of the lesser-known side canyons.

ime to have a second cup of coffee in the morning. Time to get the most incredible message many of us ever hear--Billion-year-old rocks in a millions-of-years-old canyon, letting us know that the worries and urgencies of the so-called "real world" are... well... maybe not such a big deal after all.

Maybe this is the real world.

It's more than a sightseeing tour. In leaving that other world behind-- by offering yourself up to the Canyon, with little more than a few changes of clothes--you leave yourself open to discovery.

he beauty of a particular spot that everyone else walked right by; the peculiar way lizards do push-ups; the way light and form ripple across the water; parts of your own self that you'd long forgotten.

Each day the modern world gets further away, and the connections between you and the planet you live on become more evident; watching a sudden summer cloudburst turn into a series of raging red waterfalls; Lying on the beach at night, looking at the brightest stars you're likely to see; and getting up , not when your watch says a particular number, but when it gets light; sitting by an ancient Anasazi ruin, imagining yourself as one of them, back then. There's this indescribable connection with life that has become all but impossible in the sound bite, fast food, no-time world.

It's hard not to celebrate in this setting. A whooping feast at the foot of a wild rapid; a spontaneous dip in a cold waterfall; a mid-day nap in a quiet grotto. People find themselves doing the wildest, silliest, funniest things--things they can't remember doing since childhood... or ever.

It's not just a matter of escaping the frenzy and gadgetry of modern existence--it's making a deep connection with one of the most profound places on earth.

Welcome to the real world.

Fourteen-Day Rowing Expeditions
Lee's Ferry, AZ to Lake Mead, AZ

Rate - $2,995.00 May 14 - May 27 June 18 - July 1 July 16 - July 29 Aug 12 - Aug 25 * New Sept. 10 - Sept. 23

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